Alright, let me say up front that I ripped that title from the new guy, David Vaughn. But I share David's opinion that this Tuesday is a very significant day of choice that could bear a surprising impact on the format war. This Tuesday The Matrix trilogy will be released on HD DVD, while the first two Pirates of the Caribbean movies hit Blu-ray (exclusively) just ahead of the third installment in that series hitting theaters.

Cinepro was here at HE 2007, and had everyone talking about its demo. And talking loudly, because after hearing the Cinepro Mighty surround system odds are you weren't hearing anything else unless you'd brought earplugs too!

This morning's Ask the Editors panel was another fun and engaging event full of excellent questions and (hopefully) informative answers. At one point the subject of separate systems optimzed for two-channel audio vs video and surround sound came up, offering me a chance to get my own message out there on this subject, and to admit to you all that I am in fact a card carrying analog druid. I do not have two systems and I sacrifice nothing in performance for either.

HP was not only here, it brought more than laptops to the booth. On the left are two 1080p LCDs, the 42" LC4276N and the 47" LC4776N. Both have three HDMI inputs, and a bevy of other impressive features. but the prices are total mainstream: the LC4276N is $1,899 with the LC4776N tipping the scales at just $2,499. We've liked what we've seen from HP's plasmas, so you can bet we're going to get a look at one of these LCDs.